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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. last — to go on
  6. chest — of your body
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. tube — the underground
  9. net — for catching
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. land — to come down
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. net — in sport
  14. last — final
  15. last — finally
  16. land — a country
  17. tube — a container
  18. chest — a box
  19. plane — a tool
  20. land — ground
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. net — after costs

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com